Spiced Tea and Ginger Snaps
by Everlane
Summary: Two sisters and spiced tea with ginger snaps.


_Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender_

**Author's Note – **I'm done with finals. I was so happy, I decided to add a one-shot while working on the chapters. Stay tuned for this week.

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**Spiced Tea and Ginger Snaps**

Each early morning Kiyi rose to scurry from her too big of a bed. She'd tip toe quietly down the corridors, calmed by the way it echoed her light foots steps and own breath. She'd half run and half walk until she was greeted by the sounds of crickets and other creatures in the Royal Gardens, and would wait by the last pillars and look around until she saw her sister not too far away from the tree over the turtle duck pond.

Kiyi didn't know why she always did this over the past year since she moved in the Royal Palace. She guess that there was something about her sister that always fascinated her. Azula was terrifying and intriguing all at once, a distant wanderer in the close knit family.

Most times she was off to another place without saying a word, and the only time Kiyi would see her before she left off was when she wore her armor and walked out of the palace as if she was just going to the market, only to return long months later. Never did she once speak to Azula alone. And when she preferred for it to be that way in the beginning, she now felt more saddened by the fact that Azula could care less about it.

At twenty four summers, Azula became the youngest general of the Fire Nation Army even though she had been doing it since she was fourteen. Her sister was well versed in the Fire Nation's history and could be with the entire Wah Shi Tong library in her current pace. She could calculate complex mathematical formulas at the top of her head and could read anyone like the back of her hand. Ty-Lee always told her that she never stopped fearing her best friend.

Kiyi wrapped her arms around her bare legs against the chilly breeze. She gazed at the peaceful state of her sister whose eyes were closed and body still. Only her chest lifted with each calm breath as the sun slowly crept over the horizon.

"Do you need something?"

At first, Kiyi didn't hear the voice because she was enraptured by the way the sun lit the side of Azula's face. But it took Azula clearing her throat to jolt her into attention. "Huh?"

Golden eyes narrowed. "Perhaps you're too dense in the head. Let me rephrase myself. What are you doing here?"

"Um…"

"_What?"_

Azula stared at her as if she was staring at a rodent. She knew that it was just Azula being annoyed, but she couldn't help but feel her chest hurt because she was reminded that her sister had no interest in establishing a relationship with her. Kiyi couldn't say anything else, so she stood and bowed with a quiet apology. Tears threatened to come, but she kept walking until she threw herself over her bed and cried while the sun fully rose.

She never moved when she heard her doors open, and the soft voice of her mother. "Kiyi, is everything alright? You have to come to–_oh Kiyi…_"

"Mom, why does Azula hate me?" she sobbed when she felt her mother's warm arms encircling her as the bed dipped. She turned to her mother's smiling face, finding herself stunned that this was her mother. Mother was Ursa, not Noriko, she reminded herself. Mom was still her mom.

"Why doesn't she like me, mom?" Kiyi asked while Ursa wiped her tears with her thumbs. Kiyi continued blurting at her feelings out. "I just want to talk to her, but anytime I have to I get…I don't know…"

"You get scared? You can't talk?"

Kiyi nodded. "Yeah."

"What happened this morning?" Ursa asked.

"I went to the garden to see her meditate. I was trying to ask her to get me to meditate too." Kiyi began. "Then she saw me and she asked what did I want and stuff. I didn't know what to say and she looked so mad."

"I'm sure your sister wasn't angry, Kiyi."

"But she looked at me like she hated me. I don't want to feel like that anymore. Zuko is nicer, he doesn't treat me like I'm a stranger because we're brother and sister. Anytime I try to talk to Azula, I get scared 'because I don't know if she's going to be mad."

She sniffed quietly in her mother's arms, buried further underneath thick sheets. Ursa stroked her hair before she spoke. "I know you're upset Kiyi, but didn't it ever occur to you that your sister might be scared of you too?"

Kiyi looked up with a frown. "Scared? But she's a general and she's tough. I'm even scared she'll fire bend at me. Why would she be scared of me?"

"Maybe she doesn't know what to say around you too."

"But I don't know, and I still try to talk to her." Kiyi reasoned.

"That's right." Ursa agreed. "But you have to understand the kind of upbringing your sister had as a child. When she was younger, she was told to hide her emotions, but what do we always tell you Kiyi?"

"That I always need to be open about things."

"That's right, but you have to realize that your sister does not know how to do that. She does not know how to talk to people and interact with them. Remember Uncle Iroh's welcoming party last year?"

Of course she did. It was the best time of her life. She remembered the music and the dancing along with the laughter while the night went away. The vibrant colors from the decorations and the food always stuck out in her mind, but what she also remembered was that her sister was the only one who didn't join the others. She stayed for one hour and quietly left the crowd. Kiyi remembered wanting to go after her, but her friend dragged her over to the gardens to meet the other girls.

"You're very sociable and open. You love to interact with people and you're a free spirited person, Kiyi." Ursa said. "But you have to know that your sister is the exact opposite."

It all made sense. "…Is that why it's hard for you to talk to her, mom?"

Ursa smiled sadly and nodded. "Yes."

If Azula didn't look so much like her mother, Ursa knew that people would easily think she wasn't her daughter. Azula's demeanor was so off chart that most people sometimes wondered if Ursa really gave birth to her. Sometimes Kiyi wondered why both women never saw eye to eye, even when they looked so much alike.

"So that means if I want to talk to her, I have to use my awesome free spirited powers to save her right?"

Ursa laughed. "Not save her alone. I think you both need some saving, it just requires a little initiative on your part."

Kiyi had one of the servants prepare spiced tea later in the evening. Fresh ginger snaps were piled up on a plate on the dining table. She knew that Azula would come to get something to eat around this time because she never dined with the family. While she sipped some of her tea, she heard Azula's footsteps from down the hall. They were heavy, which meant that she was wearing her armor and would be leaving to another post tonight.

Azula didn't acknowledge her presence when she arrived. Her plate of food was served, and she sat to eat quietly on the far side of the table. Kiyi felt discouraged at first, but then she saw the way her sister's shoulders were tense and made up her mind. The thirteen year old put her cup back on the table, got up, and moved the plate of ginger snaps towards Azula.

As she went back to get the two cups of tea, she felt the furious gaze of her sister. She heard a scoff. Kiyi didn't care, but brought the cups of tea with her. She was one seat away from her sister when she put the back on the table.

"Hi."

Nothing. Azula continued eating.

"Are you leaving again?" Kiyi asked.

"Yes, now why are you so close by?" Azula asked without looking at her.

Kiyi smiled. "Because I wanted to sit next to you."

"And why would you want to do that?"

"Because I'm your sister."

Azula took another bite. "Half-sister."

"Sister."

"_Half_-sister."

"Sister."

Azula sighed, pushed her half-eaten food back and took a drink of the tea Kiyi offered her in one swig. Kiyi wondered how she didn't flinch at the scorching heat. She turned to her, attempting to belittle her with her most vicious gaze. "Let me tell you something, and listen well."

Kiyi blinked.

"We may have the same mother, but I don't and won't ever see you as a sister." Azula said. "Do you hear me?"

Kiyi took the plate of ginger snaps and offered it to her.

"Want some?"

She saw the change, the way her sister's calm demeanor faltered and just switched back again as if nothing happened. It was at that moment where Kiyi believed what her mother said. Her sister was scared of being close to her, so she found every opportunity to push her away.

She felt herself scrutinized in every angle from Azula with one hard look. But Kiyi kept her eyes open and was just as ready for a comeback. "It tastes really nice when it's warm. Maybe it'll make you happier."

"And you'd love that wouldn't you?"

Kiyi nodded eagerly and pushed the ginger snaps towards her. Just as her sister was about to fire out another retort, a guard entered the dining room. He made a deep bow, stood up back straight, and said, "Princess Azula, your ship is ready to depart for the colonies."

Kiyi giggled when Azula rolled her eyes. The young woman stood and did the unthinkable. She took the plate of ginger snaps from Kiyi and began to snack on them in her arms. The guard gaped.

"What?" Azula snapped.

"Nothing, princess."

The girl watched Azula walked out with a plate of ginger snaps in her hands. She went to sleep feeling like the happiest girl in the world and when her sister came back home two months later, their relationship changed.

Every morning they would eat ginger snaps and drink tea over the years. Up until Azula was heavy with child, and until her arms were full with her son on her lap. They continued their morning round until Kiyi soon had her daughter. Until both their hair grayed with age.


End file.
